Gas-engine.



' Patented Mar. 6, I900. A. T. OTTO.

GAS ENGINE.

' (Application filed Dec. 26. 1895 Renewed Nov. 29, 1898A (No Model) 2Sheets-Sheet l No. 645,044. Patented Mar. 6, I900.

A. T. OTTO.

GAS ENGINE.

(Application filed Dec. 26, 1895. Renewed Nov. 29, 1898) (No Model.) 2Shaets-$he8i 2.

tlnire TAT-ES FFICE.

PATENT ALBERT T. OTTO, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR ROBERT Ii;STEVENS, OF I-IOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY.

ens-ENGINE.-

sPEGIFIcA'rIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. e45;o44, dated March6, 1900; Application filed December 26, 1895. Renewed November 29, 1898.Serial No. 697,801. (No od l.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I,' ALBERT T. OTTO, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented an Improvement in- Gas-Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

In explosive-gas engines difficulty has heretofore been experienced inconsequence of the cylinder becoming excessively hot and also from theair and gas not being uniformly mixed, and hence there is anuncertaintyin the uniformity of action in the explosion, and in additionto this the ignition of the gas is uncertain and the explosion willfrequently be missed.

The object of the present invention is to overcome these difficulties.

I find that where one port is provided as a projection at one side ofthe cylinder the tendency to heat the cylinder is lessened, because theair and gas passing in a cold condition through this port are benefitedby being heated, and the temperature of the cylinder and port arecorrespondingly lessened, and the hot products of combustion passingthrough the same port tend again to heat up such port, and in this waythe average temperature of the cylinder is lessened. dition to this Iapply around within the cylinder and adjacent to the inlet and exhaustport an annular deflector, which performs the threefold duty of causingthe air and gas to be intimately mixed, of-taking up heat from theexplosion, so as to lessen the heat of the cylinder, and of heating upthe air and gas as they are brought into the cylinder and compressedtherein previous tothe next explosion. I also provide peculiar electricdevices for exploding the charge in the cylinder, and I construct thevalves and valve-gear in such a manner as to adapt the engine to usewith liquid fuel, as well as with an admixture of air and gas.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation with the valve-chests insection. Fig. 2 is a section through the cylinder and parts at rightangles to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a modification of one of thevalve-chests. V Fig. 4 is a partial sectional plan at the line 00 at,Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a section of the supply pipe and chamber. at theline 2 y, Fig. 1.

The frame A is of suitable size and shape, and to it is connected thecylinder 13, and the In ading into the cylinder, and the valve-chests Hand I are connected to the flanges at the sides of the'projection G,which flanges are inclined to each other, so that the axial lines of thevalve-stems will be on radial lines extending to the actuating-wheel T,or nearly so, and the chest H is for the induction-valve and the chest Ifor the eduction.

The cylinder-head K is bolted onto the flanged end of the cylinder, andit is provided with an annular deflector 5 in the form" of acomparatively-thin cylinder projecting from the head K into the cylinderand extending as far as the opening or port G in the projection G, andthere is a space between this deflector and the interior surface of thecylinder, so that the 'air and gas or vapor passinginto the cylinderthrough the port G strike against this deflector 5 and pass around thecylinder at the same time that they pass into the cylinder at the edgeor end of the deflector. The action of the parts thus far described isthat as air and gas or vapor pass into the cylinder they strike againstthis deflector 5, and .such deflector being in a highly-heated conditionraises .the temperature of the air and gas, so that it is in a bettercondition for perfect combustion, and when the explosion takes place theforce of that explosion is largely concentrated upon the interiorsurface of such deflector, tending to increase the heat of the same andat the same time lessen the heat given to the cylinder itself, and asthe heated products of combustion pass away from the cylinder theyimpinge upon this annular deflector, still further increasing thetemperature of the same, and in the projection G a similar operationtakes place-that is to say, the heated gases passing off through theport G impinge against the interior of the projection G and heat thesame-and the air and gas or vapors when they pass in through suchprojection laterally from the induction-valve chest impinge against thesurface of such projection and become heated and lessen the heat of thecylinder and port. Thereby there is an interchange of the heat, tending,on the one hand, to fit the gaseous materials for perfect combustion orexplosion, and, on the other hand, to reduce the temperature of thecylinder, and thereby lessen the risk of the lubricating materialemployed with the piston becoming carbonized.

The exhaust-valve L opens inwardly, and there is an escape port or pipefor leading away the gases, and the induction-valve N also opensinwardly, and it rests upon the seat 6 when closed, and the stems of thevalves L and N occupy radial or nearly-radial positions to theactuating-wheel. Where air and gas mixed together are employed, the sameare advantageously supplied by a pipe 0, which may be flexible, and thesame opens into the mixing-chamber P, that surrounds the valve-stem.This mixing-chamberP may be separate, as indicated in Fig. 1; but Iprefer to have the valve-chest and mixing-chamber in one, as seen inFig. 3, and there is an opening at 7 through which air may be admitted;but when air and gas are supplied by the pipe 0 this opening7 willusually be closed by a cap or plug.

This engine is adapted to liquid fuel, and with this object in view thepipe Q extends off from the valve-seat 6, such pipe terminating as asmall hole through the valve-seat, so that thevalve N will close theopening at the end of such pipe Q whenever the valve is seated; but whenthe valve is raised from its seat naphtha, gasolene, kerosene,- or othermaterial may be admitted through such hole in the form of a jet tostrike against the valve and commingle with the air that is drawn intothe cylinder every second stroke.

I place in the pipe Q a valve R, which is advantageously in the form ofa pointed screw-stem, having a head 8 outside the end of the pipe Q, bywhich the valve can be adjusted, and the lateral branch Q to the pipe Qserves for the supply of naphtha, gasolene,

' or similar material, which should be under sufficient pressure tocause itto pass through the hole in the valve-seat in the form of a jetthat is more or less atomized by the action of the air, so as tocommingle therewith and be in the proper condition for explosion withinthe cylinder of the engine. The screw-stem and valve being directly inthe line of the hole in the valve-seat also keep such hole free from anyobstruction.

I remark that when ordinary illuminatinggas is mixed with air andsupplied through the pipe 0 or when atmospheric air is caused to passthrough a carbureter containing gaso-' lene or similar material, so asto take up the vapors, the valve B may be left open to allow anadditional volume of air to pass into the cylinder when the valve N isopen.

In almost all instances it is necessary to draw in the explosive gasesat one movement of the piston and compress the same by the movement ofthe piston in the other direction previous to igniting the gases, sothat the explosion takes place every other stroke. I therefore make useof a gearS upon the crankshaft driving the gear T upon a stud 9, andthis gear T is twice the size of the gear S, so as to revolve once foreach complete move ment of the engine, and upon this gear T are cams Uand V, preferably on opposite sides, the one for actuating theinduction-valve and the other the eduction-valve, and these cams areproperly shaped and timed to open these valves at the proper moment.

I prefer to provide rollers 10 and 11 upon slides 12 and 13 in thestationary guides W for the cams U and V to act upon the rollers andmove the slides, and the slides are connected with the respectivevalvestems, and the springs 14 and 15, intervening between thecross-pieces 16 at the ends of the slides and the cross-pieces 17adjacent to the respective valve-chests, act to close the valves rapidlyas the cams pass out of contact with the respective rollers.

In consequence of the valve-chests H and I having similar flanges thatare bolted upon the inclined opposite sides of the hollow projection G,the positions of these valve-chests can be transposed to cause theengine to run in the reverse direction, and the valves and their stemsbeing in the same perpendicular plane to the crank-shaft the parts arekept close to-the cylinder, so that the fly-wheel is not at a distancefrom the bearings D.

This engine is especially adapted to driving thewheels in a horselesscarriage or as a motor for light work or for driving the propeller in acomparatively-small boat, and such engine is made with reference tolightness and compactness, and in order to ignite a charge I find itadvantageous to use an electric spark, and with this object in view Iprovide a central electrode X, passing through the cylinder-head andinsulated therefrom by porcelain cylinders or non-conducting supports18, through which the'electrode passes,

and which cylinders are'firmly connected together by nuts 27 upon thecentral electrode,- there being washers at the nuts and between theporcelain cylinders and the cylinder-head for making the partsgas-tight,- and upon the piston there is a stud 20, that passes adja--cent to the electrode; but this stud being eccentric to the piston isalways in the proper position to the electrode for a spark to be drawnbetween the electrode and the stud, and by adjusting the centralelectrode lengthwise the time at which the explosion takes place can bevaried, because the spark will pass from-one electrode to the othersooner or later in the endwise movement of the piston near the end ofthe stroke and several sparks can pass between the electrodes to insurethe ignition of the gases or vapors.

Any desired source of electric energy can be connected to the centralinsulated electrode X and also to the cylinder of theengine. I,

IIO

ators around such cylinder.

however, prefer to employ a battery '30 and an induction-coil orconverter 31,the secondary of the inductorium being connected with thecentral electrode and the battery-circuit being closedand interrupted bythe contact 21 upon the gear-wheel T comin g into contact with aninsulated plate 22 in the circuit to the battery, and the vibrator at 32pnlsates the batterycurrent and gives numerous sparks in the cylinder.

In addition to the foregoing devices by which the temperature of thecylinder is lessened I find it advantageous to employ radi- Theseradiators are in the form of metal wires or strips projecting outwardlyfrom the cylinder and setting closely at their inner portions againstsuch cylinder, so as to convey away the heat by conduction from thecylinder and to disperse such heat by radiation from the projectingcoils or open loops.

I find it advantageous to employwire wound up into rectangular ornearlyrectangular helices 24: and drawn around the cylinder and held inposition so that one flat portion of each helix sets closely against thesurface of the cylinder and the other portion of such helix projects asa loop, and there are openings between these respective loops orprojections, so that the air has an opportunity to circulate, and theheat that is conducted from the cylinder is dispersed both by radiationand by the convection of the air circulating through the openings in theradiators. These radiators are shown at 23 as flat on one side andarched on the other side and at 25 as in the form of loops withcompoundcurved sides.

It will be apparent from the diagrammatic illustration of the electriccircuits appended to Fig. 2 that when the contact-stud 21 upon the gearT touches the insulated plate 22 the primary circuit of the inductorium32 will be closed and the pulsator therein will make and break theprimary circuit; but the spark will not pass from between the centralelectrode X and the stud 20 until the latter approaches the stationaryelectrode and is sufficiently near for the spark to pass from one to theother, and by this arrangement the time of ignition is rendered veryreliable, although the stud 21 may remain in contact with the plate 22after the crank has turned the center and the piston moves in the otherdirection, and the numerous sparks passing between the electrodes as thearmature of the inductorium vibrates will insure the explosion.

In consequence of the annular deflector 5 being in a position where itis liable to become highly heated by the explosion and the issuingproducts of combustion the same not only promotes a perfect combustionof the heated air and gases, but under some circumstances it appears toeffect an ignition of such gases at the moment of the greatestcompression of such gases upon the return stroke, even when the wires tothe battery are disconnected; but by using the electric spark, asheretofore described, the possibility of a failure in the ignit-ion isreduced to a minimum.

A battery or source of electric energy is illustrated at 31 and a switchat 34 for closing or breaking the primary circuit.

As I have filed, May 19,1899, application's Serial Nos. 717,416,717,417, and 717,418, Ido not herein lay claim to the devices to whichsuch applications relate.

I claim as my invention- 1. The cylinder of a gas-engine having a hollowprojection and port at one side with inclined faces, in combination withvalvechests attached to the opposite inclined faces of the hollowprojection and valves in such chests, substantially as set forth.

2. The cylinder of a gas-engine having a hollow projection and port atone side, in combination with valve-chests at opposite sides of thehollow projection, valves in such chests, a crank and crank-shaft,connecting-rod and piston, a wheel and cams at opposite sides foractuating the inlet and exhaust valves, substantially as set forth.

3. In a gasengine, the cylinder having an integral hollow projection andone port for both the inlet and the exhaust to pass through, and a headat one end of the cylinder and a cylindrical deflector upon the headextending into the cylinder adjacent to the port and against which thegases impinge,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination in a gas-engine, of a cylinder having a lateralhollow projection and port with side faces inclined in oppositedirections, induction and eduction valves and chests connected upon theinclined faces of the hollow projection and inclined to each other onradial lines or nearly so extending to the actuating-wheel, a'gear onthe crank-shaft and a second gear driven by the same and forming theactuating-wheel, cams upon such actuating-Wheel, rollers and slides foropening the respective valves and springs for closin g such valves,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the cylinder-piston and crank-shaft in agas-engine havinga lateral hollow projection and port, of valvechestsconnected with the said lateral hollow projection and at oppositeinclinations, valves and their rods in such chests and in a planeperpendicular to the crank-shaft, a wheel and cams for actuating thevalves, a cylinder-head and an annular deflector within the cylinder andadjacent to the lateral port, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 20th day of December,

ALBERT T. OTTO.

